Of course the Feds want to exclude the largest oil disaster in our nation's history when calculating the damage potential of exploration in the gulf! This is absurd.. The Deepwater Horizon Disaster is a PERFECT example of why they should NOT be further exploring drilling options in the gulf! Not only have measures not been taken yet to BEGIN recovering.. the damage assessment phase from this spill that occured a year and a half ago is not even completed- However Obama just passed a plan to allow further drilling in U.S. waters- with focus on the Gulf of Mexico. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/08/us-usa-offshore-drilling-idUSTRE7A77FL20111108)Obama is holding off on Artic drilling "until more is known about spill response preparedness", and the administration is currently not pursuing any drilling along the east coast. Representative Ed Markey, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, praised the plan for keeping the East Coast free of drilling. "We still don't know the answers about the long-term effects of the BP oil spill on the fisheries of the Gulf, and East Coast fishermen would rather never even have to ask those types of questions about an Atlantic spill," he said in a release.

Well Ed, the Gulf residents would rather never have had to ask them either.. "The Gulf Coast serves as a resource for the entire nation. The Gulf of Mexico has one of the most productive fisheries in the world- providing more than 2/3 of the nation’s shrimp and oysters. It also contains four of the top seven fishing ports by weight and half of the U.S. Coastal Wetlands. If these Gulf Coast resources are lost, it will have negative consequences for the entire nation." (State of the Gulf report written by Save Our Gulf: http://www.saveourgulf.org/updates/state-gulf-released-gulf-coast-waterkeepers)

So you see, the Gulf of Mexico serves as a resource for the ENTIRE nation.. I wish people would see our beautiful and currently fragile environment as if it were their own backyard too. They would then see why we are so passionate about our Gulf!!

The American Petroleum Institute called the administration's plan a good first step, but wanted additional areas opened. (In regards Obama focusing exploration to the Gulf)

-Yeah.. I don't doubt that. Obviously there have ultimately been no lessons learned by those who are responsible (Oil & Gas Industry/ Government).#unbelievable.